1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-weight automatic rifle with a housing with removable attachments, specifically a longitudinally coaxial barrel, a grip with a trigger mechanism, a shoulder rest, a clip, and sights. The slide slides back and forth in the housing in back of the barrel and along a cheek, resting in its frontmost position against the rear end of the barrel and with locking components that securely engage accommodations in the housing. The housing is a hollow plastic housing and it accommodates a metal sleeve, which is coaxial with the barrel. The rear of the barrel is inserted in the front of the sleeve, and the accommodations are on the rear of the sleeve.
All terms referring herein to spatial direction are to be understood as applied to the weapon conventionally leveled.
2. Description of the Related Art
The housing of a rifle of this type comprises at least two halves stamped out of sheet metal and welded together edge to edge. All parts that accommodate such keying pins as the pins that attach the butt or grip are often reinforced with hollow rivets.
The rear of the barrel is generally engaged by projections from the sheet-metal halves or secured by at least one keying pin in the accordingly assembled housing.
The sights rest at least to some extent on the housing, although some components can also be mounted on the barrel itself.
In contrast to weapons of classic design, which have a slide sliding back and forth in a track that is open at the top, the housing of such a light-weight automatic rifle provides the great advantage of being considerably less susceptible to contamination and weather. The closed and box-like housing can also easily be fabricated of sheet metal, mainly by stamping, and machined only at various points for finishing. The forged parts employed in the classic weapon on the other hand must be extensively and expensively machined.
There are also drawbacks of course to two-part sheet-metal housings. They may have difficult-to-access seams, where the two halves are welded together for instance, that moisture can accumulate in and cannot be kept clean by conventional methods. Rust can deposit in the seams and eventually weaken the material, threatening the safety of the weapon as a whole.
It is impossible to employ stainless-steel sheet instead of the metal employed up to now. Stainless steel is not ductile enough for satisfactorily shaping into a light-weight automatic-title housing.
Welding together the two halves of the housing also results in warping, which necessitates the aforesaid follow-up machining. Finally, the known method of manufacture is expensive.